Nanotech - The Circuits Blog

Updated at 11:05 p.m. PST with additional information throughout.

Another Netbook? No, not exactly. Hewlett-Packard's new Pavilion dv2 is an ultraportable, thank you. And the new Athlon Neo silicon inside from Advanced Micro Devices will try to prove that point.

AMD is introducing new chips at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that target the no-man's land between Netbooks and notebooks. Typically, these designs are referred to as ultraportables--the most salient examples being Apple's MacBook Air, the Toshiba Portege, and the Sony Vaio TT series.

So what makes AMD's platform different? In one word, price. Ultraportables fall into the boutique category of laptops: very stylish, very slim, very light--and very expensive. Usually ranging between $1,500 and $3,000. HP's notebook with Athlon Neo silicon cuts the price in half. The Pavilion dv2 will start at $699 and top out at $899 for standard configurations.

HP 12-inch Pavilion dv2 ultraportable starts at $699, at least half the price of traditional ultraportable notebooks like the MacBook Air, Toshiba Portege, and Sony Vaio TT series.

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

The dv2, at 3.8 pounds, is slightly heavier than ultraportables that typically weigh between 2.5 and 3 pounds. It is 0.9-inches thick, slightly thicker than more expensive ultraportables like the MacBook Air.

But the Pavilion dv2 will pack features such as an AMD-ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 separate (discrete) graphics chip, a relatively large hard disk drive (HP lists drives up to 500GB), and a 12.1-inch LED screen. Features that differentiate it from Netbooks and put it squarely into ultraportable territory.

AMD Athlon Neo silicon details

(Credit: AMD)

The dv2 will also come with WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) options as well as standard Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Bahr Mahony, AMD's manager of mobile products, said in an interview that one of the few ultraportables available today with discrete graphics is the MacBook Air, but this starts at a whopping $1,800. (The Air uses Nvidia's GeForce 9400M graphics and Intel's Core 2 Duo low-voltage processors.)

The Athlon Neo platform can handle 1080p HD playback and a "casual" gaming experience with realistic 3D graphics, using the optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 graphics chip.

AMD's Athlon Neo processor--formerly code-named "Huron" under the platform codename "Yukon"--runs at 1.6GHz and has a power envelope of 15 watts, comparable to Intel ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) Core 2 Duo processors that power ultraportables today.

AMD's Neo does fall short in one respect, however. Currently it is only single-core, whereas Intel ULV processors are dual-core at a comparable power envelope, and, moreover, typically integrate 6MB level-2 cache memory to boost performance. AMD's Neo has only 512K of cache memory.

A dual-core chip, code-named "Conesus," will come in the second half of this year, according to AMD's Mahoney.

The first HP Pavilion dv2 ultrathin notebook is expected to be available from HP in the second quarter.

Freescale Semiconductor is expected to launch new silicon for Netbooks--devices that it believes will come in below $200--at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas.

The ARM chip architecture-based i.MX51 processor is designed to enable "low-power, gigahertz performance netbooks at sub-$200 price points," according to Freescale, formerly Motorola's chipmaking arm.

Freescale envisions sub-$200 Netbooks

(Credit: Freescale Semiconductor)

The definition of a Netbook seems to get redefined every month, as different companies push their distinct vision of the device. And Freescale is no different. While Freescale, like Intel, believes the Netbook is a companion device to the PC, it envisions devices that are more frugal with power consumption and run the Linux operating system. Intel-based Netbooks using the Atom processor typically offer better performance than ARM-based devices and run the Windows XP operating system.

"Because the primary function (of a Netbook) is accessing the Internet, Linux and Firefox are a good operating system and application for that purpose," Glen Burchers, director global marketing for Freescale's consumer products group, said in an interview.

He doesn't see ARM competing directly with Intel Atom processors, which target a higher-end Netbook segment. "ARM based processors can have a play, in addition to x86 (Intel)," Burchers said. 'We don't believe ARM processor will replace x86, but will augment them for a certain segment of the market." Ideally, the Freescale chip would be used in Netbooks that get about eight hours of battery life and sport an 8.9-inch screen.

And ABI Research, a market research firm, forecasts that there should be plenty of space for competing visions of the Netbook over the next several years. ABI expects consumers to purchase 60 million netbooks in 2013, compared with only 182,000 sold in 2007.

Freescale has been working with Pegatron, a wholly owned Asus subsidiary, to develop a reference design that features the 1GHz ARM Cortex A8-based i.MX51 processor, Canonical's Ubuntu operating system, Adobe's Flash Player software, a new power management chip, and the SGTL5000 ultra low-power audio codec.

Freescale's netbook reference design is available now. The company says it is currently sampling the i.MX51 processor and MC13982 power management device to tier-one Netbook customers. Volume production for the i.MX51 device is planned for Q2 2009 to power netbooks designed for the 2009 holiday shopping season, Freescale said.

(Note about Apple Netbook speculation: Freescale says that the "speculation is inaccurate" that its i.MX51 chip will be used in an Apple Netbook, as some reports have stated. "Freescale's netbook approach is unambiguously an ARM/Linux play, and any suggestion otherwise is inaccurate," a Freescale spokesman said Sunday night.)

A couple of freelance writers for the blog VentureBeat say they have ported Google's Android operating system to an Asus Eee PC. But does this constitute a new trend in Netbooks?

Asus Eee PC: Android next?

(Credit: Asus)

Matthäus Krzykowski and Daniel Hartmann said in a post Thursday that they compiled, in four hours, the open-source Android operating system for an Asus Eee PC 1000H Netbook. The two run a start-up called Mobile-facts.

In somewhat breathless prose here's what the authors conclude about Android on Netbooks: "For (a) myriad of (Silicon Valley) software companies, it means a well-backed, open operating system that is open and ripe for exploitation for building upon. Now think of Chrome, Google's Web browser, and the richness it allows developers to build into the browser's relationship with the desktop--all of this could usher in a new wave of more sophisticated Web applications, cheaper and more dynamic to use."

If this was Verizon or Asus saying this, it would be product news. Otherwise, it remains an interesting experiment. The authors say Intel is one contributor working on the adoption of Android to a notebook, as a partner in Google's Open Handset Alliance.

Indeed, OHA does have a long list of illustrious members, many of them large companies (or entities) like China Mobile, Broadcom, LG, NTT DoCoMo, Nvidia, and Samsung.

Qualcomm is a member too. And, by the way, already has a prototype Netbook running Red Flag Linux on top of its Snapdragon processor. And it is worth noting that Qualcomm claims it has first-tier PC companies planning devices, including Acer, Asus, and Toshiba.

Would Qualcomm partners opt for the Android operating system instead? It is also worth noting that Qualcomm supplied the silicon guts for the T-Mobile G1, the first phone to run Google's Android operating system.

Global sales of chips sank 9.8 percent in November, underscoring the impact the worldwide economic crisis is having on chipmakers, the Semiconductor Industry Association said Friday.

The San Jose, Calif.-based trade group said worldwide sales of semiconductors fell in November to $20.8 billion, a decline of 9.8 percent from November 2007 when sales were $23.1 billion.

Sales were down 7.2 percent from the $22.4 billion in October, according to the SIA.

Memory chips are putting the biggest damper on growth. Excluding memory, there was a slower year-on-year decline of 4.8 percent to $17.3 billion from $18.2 billion, the SIA said. "The memory market, which has been under severe price pressure throughout the year, has seen sales decline significantly while many other product sectors have year-to-date sales above 2007 levels," SIA President George Scalise said in a statement.

Micron Technology, the largest U.S. maker of memory chips, posted a net loss of $706 million last month due to an oversupply of memory. And Taiwan's memory chip industry has been seeking rescue funds from the government because of deteriorating market conditions.

For the first 11 months of 2008, sales were $232.7 billion, a slight increase of 0.2 percent from the first 11 months of 2007 when sales were $232.2 billion. And excluding memory products, year-to-date sales jumped 5.6 percent.

"We expect the industry will remain the second largest exporter in the U.S. for 2008," Scalise added.

Here's a radical idea: a 2009 Apple computer with an AMD processor.

Improbable?

(Credit: Apple, AMD)

Maybe this isn't in the cards, but it should be. Especially in light of Advanced Micro Devices' upcoming ultraportable platforms.

I see an upscale Netbook-like Apple computer with, let's say, a slightly smaller form factor than the Apple MacBook Air. Maybe an 11-inch or 12-inch design packing low-power (and relatively inexpensive) AMD Yukon or Congo silicon. This would not be a Netbook clone--and would offer much better graphics silicon than a Netbook--allowing Apple to sufficiently differentiate itself.

Or what about an Apple laptop with an upcoming AMD 45-nanometer mobile processor plus ATI Radeon HD 3600-level graphics that slots below the MacBook Pro? I'm sure Apple could find a head-turning way to implement this that would set it apart from the Intel-based hordes.

Or: AMD's 45-nanometer Shanghai or Phenom II in a Mac Pro? Maybe this concept is beyond the pale for the marketing folks at Apple, but it shouldn't be.

And Apple has demonstrated it can buck conventional processor politics. Intel's newest ultra-low-voltage (ULV) Core 2 Duo processors were offered by all the top-tier laptop vendors as an Intel bundle--Intel processor and Intel integrated graphics--until Apple decided to "think different" and up the ante with an Nvidia GeForce 9400M-based chipset.

Needless to say, AMD needs to go where Intel hasn't gone before in 2009. Last year was not a good year for AMD. Aside from its financial difficulties and the spinoff of its manufacturing operations, it couldn't muster a respectable challenge to Intel in server, desktop, or mobile chips. AMD's newest Shanghai processor for servers and Phenom II for desktops should be competitive with Intel offerings, but don't expect any tectonic shift in market share.

So AMD should be targeting Intel vulnerabilities--some of them self-imposed because of Intel's rigid processor segmentation in some areas--as well as exploiting its self-proclaimed advantage: AMD is the only one of the Big Three PC processor suppliers (the other two being Intel and Nvidia) that makes both CPUs and GPUs.

AMD's Fusion strategy should be more than a marketing mantra. Some unsolicited advice: find a truly unique way to fuse together the strengths of the CPU and GPU before Intel or Nvidia beat you to it.

Dual-core Intel Atom rivals are in the works.

Via Nano procesor

(Credit: Via Technologies)

Via Technologies is planning a very low-power, dual-core Nano 3000 processor, according to Chinese-language Web site HKEPC.

Via's C7-M processor is used in Hewlett-Packard's 2133 Mini-Note, which preceded the crop of Netbooks based on the Atom CPU. Via processors, however, were subsequently eclipsed by Intel's Atom.

Advanced Micro Devices will target its low-power dual-core "Conesus" at the laptop market segment above Atom's Netbook-centric space.

Meanwhile, Freescale Semiconductor has indicated that it will bring out a very-low-power ARM chip that features a dual-core graphics engine targeted at Netbook-like laptops.

All of these developments indicate that the market for ultra-small devices and laptops should heat up in 2009.

Intel currently offers the dual-core Atom 330 that is targeted at Nettops--small desktop computers.

The dual-core version of the Via Nano 3000--due in late 2009 or 2010--may use a Fujitsu 45-nanometer or TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) 40-nanometer manufacturing process, according to HKEPC. The Intel Atom is based on 45-nanometer process technology.

The Via chip may also include SSE4 instruction support, HKEPC said. Generally, SSE4 (Streaming SIMD Extensions 4) instructions speed up multimedia applications.

Via is also slated to bring out other improved Nano processors in 2009, according to the report.

Advanced Micro Devices said Monday that it will incur $70 million in restructuring costs in the fourth quarter, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing also cited fourth-quarter layoffs of 600 employees. An AMD spokesperson said that approximately 500 layoffs were announced in November, but that the company "ended up closer to 600."

The restructuring dollar figure is new, AMD said. The company now estimates that the "restructuring expense that it will record in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 will be approximately $70 million, based on the restructuring plan approved by the Company on December 19, 2008."

Of the $70 million, about $34 million is related to severance and employee benefits, $13 million is related to contract or program termination costs, approximately $17 million is connected to asset impairments, and about $6 million is related to exit costs at facilities.

Previously, AMD had reported in a Form 10-Q filing that it expected to cut approximately 500 employees and take a charge to operations in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 of approximately $50 million.

Future cost reductions are also planned. "Further cost reduction actions will result in additional charges in the first half of fiscal 2009, which the company cannot estimate at this time," according to Monday's Form 8K filing.

AMD also said that on December 19 it determined that it would incur a material charge for impairment of assets during the fiscal quarter ended December 27 related to the 2006 acquisition of ATI Technologies. "The Company concluded that the current carrying value of its goodwill...was impaired." AMD added: "This conclusion was reached based on the results of an updated long-term financial outlook for the businesses of the former ATI Technologies Inc. in light of the current market conditions and economic outlook" and "due to the deterioration in the price of the Company's common stock and the resulting reduced market capitalization."

AMD expects that the impairment charge "will be material, but, as of the time of this filing...is unable to estimate the amount or range of amounts of the impairment charge. The Company will disclose such an estimate or range of estimates in a filing with the SEC promptly and in any event within four business days of determining such an estimate or range of estimates," according to the Form 8K.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chipmaker split in two earlier this year in order to defray the burdensome costs of its manufacturing operations. The manufacturing operations received a massive investment from Mubadala Development Co. and is now run as a separate concern called The Foundry Company.

The price of its stock has sunk from about $6 in June of this year to a little more than $2.

Intel has launched a low-cost quad-core mobile processor and added more mobile Core 2 Duo processors to its chip lineup, according to an updated price list dated December 28.

Acer was one of the first PC makers to announce a system with the new quad-core processor. On Monday Acer released the Aspire 8930G-7665 laptop designed for extreme gaming using the new Intel Core 2 Quad Mobile Processor Q9000, which runs at 2.53GHz. The laptop comes with a 18.4-inch WUXGA screen and Nvidia GeForce 9700M GT graphics. It is priced at $1,799.

The Q9000 processor is listed at $348, significantly less expensive than the existing QX9300 mobile quad-core processor, which is listed at $1,038, and the Q9100, listed at $851. Both of these processors, however, have 12MB of cache memory, twice the amount of the cheaper Q9000, which integrates 6MB of cache. Generally, the more cache memory, the faster the processor.

Intel also released other mobile processors: the 2.93GHz T9800 ($530), the 2.66GHz P9600 Core 2 Duo ($348), the 2.66GHz T9550 ($316), and the 2.53GHz P8700 ($241).

T series processors typically have a power envelope (TDP, or thermal design power) of 35 watts, while P series chips have a 25W TDP.

2009 may be the year of the Netbook. But there's a big if.

Here's the choice: Will consumers buy a thin, light, relatively fast $1,800 MacBook Air or a thin, light, ultrasmall, not-as-fast $450 Hewlett-Packard Mini 1000 Netbook? (Correction: the HP Mini 1000 configuration cited here was originally stated incorrectly as $700.)

A $400-$700 Netbook or a $1,800-$2,500 notebook?

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard, Apple)

If many people, fully aware of this choice, opt for a Netbook then we have the foundation of, at the very least, a rethinking of the pricey ultraportable.

At most, we have many more consumers buying into the Netbook concept--particularly if 3G broadband wireless comes as a standard option.

Here's the dilemma in more detail: Do you want an ultralight subnotebook replete with a Core 2 Duo processor, 64GB solid-state drive, and 12-inch (or 13-inch) LED screen that will set you back at least $1,800?

Or do you want a Netbook with an Atom processor, 16GB solid-state drive (or 60GB or 120GB hard disk drive), and a 10-inch screen for $450 to $500? (Clarification: Netbooks are generally thought of as sub-$400 designs; but for comparison's sake, upscale Netbooks with 10.2-inch screens are cited here.)

The dimensions and weight are the key to both the Netbook and the ultraportable, and differentiate them from standard laptops. Both are small and light. But here's where Netbooks become disruptive. To date (that is, for at least the last 10 years), consumers have had to pay a big premium for smallness and thinness (and still do with the Air, Dell Latitude E4200, and Toshiba Portege, for example). With the Netbook, they don't. (The one obvious downside to Netbooks, however, is that they're too small--cramped screens and keyboards.)

(See CNET review of the HP Mini 1000.)

Of course, the design and internals are different, but are they different enough? To rephrase the question posed above: Is a $2,500 13-inch MacBook Air with a 128GB solid-state drive (and no 3G) different enough from (or that much better than) a high-end $600 or $700 11-inch Netbook with a 32GB (or 64GB) solid-state drive and 3G? I would expect that most consumers (even ones that must have an ultraportable laptop) won't be able to justify paying an extra $1000-$2,000 for a MacBook Air- or Toshiba Portege-style design in the face of a compelling array of Netbook offerings. Especially if Netbooks (or a facsimile of the Netbook) start sporting larger screens.

Consumers will ultimately decide the fate of the Netbook of course--though it remains problematic whether PC suppliers will really push Netbooks in front of consumers that aggressively if Netbooks are eating into their laptop sales. Advanced Micro Devices or Via Technologies, however, could change this by aggressively promoting their newest silicon (AMD's Yukon and Via's Nano) for slick, upscale Netbook-like designs.

When Apple converted to Intel in 2005 that was big. But 2008 Intel Atom converts make this look like a small-town baptism.

Overall, it was a good year for the Intel faithful despite the Wall Street financial crisis. Intel handily beat Advanced Micro Devices in the PC processor performance war. (Not coincidentally, AMD was forced to spin off its manufacturing operations to save itself.) But that really was last year's news since AMD had not been delivering competitive processors for almost two years.

iBook G3: Apple's conversion from IBM-Motorola to Intel pales against the conversion of PC makers to Intel's Atom

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The tectonic shift in 2008 came as one PC maker after another adopted Intel's new Atom processor. Count 'em: Acer, Asus, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Toshiba--to mention only the largest vendors. (Atom shipments in the third quarter were strong and expected to hit between 10 and 20 million units this year.)

This wasn't one sole convert (like Apple), this was a Pentecostal conversion of biblical proportions. Almost overnight, the entire top tier of the PC industry got the Atom religion. In fact, it happened so quickly and so massively that companies like AMD and Qualcomm didn't know what hit them.

Wait a minute, Qualcomm seemed to say, we specialize in making chips for small devices, why is Intel running away with this market? (Even Intel was a bit surprised at the swiftness of Atom adoption in Netbooks.) And though AMD had helped pioneer the market by supplying its Geode processor for the progenitor of the Netbook, the One-Laptop-Per-Chip XO laptop, the Geode never came close to the commercial success (or performance) of the Atom.

AMD took notice, however, and said it plans to deliver a processor for the ultraportable market (an upscale Netbook or cheap notebook--however you want to look at it) at the Consumer Electronics Show.

And Nvidia followed suit. And seemed to be posing the same questions. Hey, if everyone's doing this, is this the Second Coming of the PC? Or, at least, a restructuring of the traditional price structure of the PC market? (The other question Nvidia is asking itself is whether it can bust the Intel bundling Juggernaut).

Oh, and we almost forgot Microsoft. Not initially enthusiastic about the Netbook market because of its XP-centric nature, Microsoft seems to have also gotten the Netbook religion with Windows 7 which will be ready for Netbooks from day one.